First Look: 2010 Subaru Outback
A week after unveiling its bigger and better Legacy, Subaru is now letting the other shoe drop. Or should we say letting its hiking boot drop. Since 1994, the Outback has been the Legacy’s rough-and-tumble alter ego. Their Indiana Jones to the Legacy’s tweedy Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. And like Harrison Ford himself, the Outback has gained in both savvy and physical size since his swashbuckling debut, though neither one appears to be any less willing to tackle genuine adventure.
As with the Legacy’s architecture, the 2010 Outback has swelled in size. Its wheelbase has added 2.8 inches, it’s been widened by 2.0 inches, and its height has been elevated by 4.0 inches. The consequence is an interior that’s ballooned by 8 cubic feet of passenger room (up 7.6 percent), while cargo volume (with folded rear seats) is up 8.4 cubic feet. Aging whip-crackers will appreciate its additional 3.5 inches of front hip room (1.3 in the back) and 4 extra inches of rear legroom in which to straighten arthritic knees. Although the Outback’s overall length has actually contracted by nearly an inch, those gains in width and height give it a much more imposing visual presence.
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2011 Subaru Impreza WRX fills out with big bro’s wide body
The car has ditched its Clark Kent glasses in favor of a look that’s been distilled from the mighty STI – one part Gundam, two parts track-hardened awesome. The move is destined to give the oft-neglected Rex the attention it deserves in the Subaru stable for the first time in years, though the change is more than a set of fenders. Subaru’s engineers have poured over the car to wring even more potency out of one of the tuning universe’s most capable platforms straight from the factory.
It’s easy to think that the big news here is the WRX’s new sheetmetal, and to some extent, it is. By gracing the WRX with the same wide shell as the more sinister STI, Subaru was able to incorporate a few mechanical feats that would have been otherwise impossible under the old skin.
2011 Subaru Outback adds in-car Wi-Fi
Ford’s SYNC does 3G WiFi, and with the help of Autonet so do GM, Chrysler, Avis, some school buses and now Subaru. The Japanese automaker has put WiFi on the options list of the 2011 Subaru Outback for the pretty standard price of $499 as a dealer-installed option. That’ll get you an encrypted connection good within 150 feet of the car, and it can be used while the car is in motion. The subscription is $29 per month after that, and Subaru is gracious enough to pick up the first three months for you.
New York 2010: 2011 Subaru WRX STI sedan has wing, needs gold wheels
For the first time in three years, Subaru is offering up a four-door sedan version of their performance icon, the WRX STI. This is the first time that Subaru has ever offered an STI in two body styles. That’s right, you can also buy the five-door STI. And while we love hot little performance wagons, you have to admit the wing is pretty sweet. Or at least admit that the four-door Impreza body is so… awkward looking (we know, we know) that the looks are actually improved by a 14-inch wing.
New for the STI(s) this year is an improved suspension consisting of stiffer bushings, stiffer springs, and thicker anti-roll bars at both ends of the car. The 2011 STI also sports less unsprung weight than the 2010 model due to lighter 18-inch wheels that are a combined 17.6 pounds less heavy. While power is unchanged (305 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque), high-speed stability of the four door is greatly improved, as is at the limit handling, by – you guessed it – that mega wing.
Since the sedan is marginally lighter than the five-door, 0-60 mph times might improve. However, since there’s less weight over the rear wheels (and since the STI’s diff is slightly rear-biased) they might be a bit slower. Also, the sedan STI features two mufflers (still has four pipes) as opposed to the wagon’s one giant muffler (and four pipes). Subaru claims that while this has no bearing on horsepower or torque, it makes the car sound, “Meaner and louder.”
Categories: Auto Show, New York Auto Show, Sedan, Subaru Tags:
First Test: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited, 3.6R Limited
With the launch of its all-new, fifth-generation Legacy, a flagship sedan that now offers competitive performance, passenger volume, and fuel economy, Subaru is poised to make inroads in a segment in which it sold just 64,997 units in 2009. Compare that to ’09 sales of the Toyota Camry (356,824) and the Honda Accord (290,056), and the Legacy is unquestionably a small-time player. Nevertheless, 65,000 cars is still a respectable number, and Subaru is confident its new Legacy has the goods to boost that sales figure. Based on our time spent with a four-cylinder Legacy 2.5i Limited and six-cylinder 3.6R Limited, Subaru has every right to be confident.
Given that the Gen V Legacy has grown only 1.4 inches in length and around 50 pounds in curb weight, it doesn’t appear much larger than its predecessor. But, thanks to a 3.2-inch stretched wheelbase, a 3.6-inch wider breadth, a 3.2-inch taller roofline, and some clever packaging, the 2010 boasts 9.5 cubic feet of additional passenger volume and 3.9 inches of additional rear legroom. “There’s a nice blend of rear-seat support and comfort (not too flat, not too shapely),” says technical editor Kim Reynolds. Tech director Frank Markus adds, “Loads of rear-seat foot room and a great center armrest.” The rear doors now offer 15 inches of additional entry/exit space; the trunk has swelled 3.3 cubic feet to 14.7; and the 60/40-split back seat folds flat.
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First Drive:2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
When Subaru introduced the STI in the U.S. for the 2004 model year, it did so using a four-door compact sedan with the subtlety of a ruffled hot-pink tuxedo. After all, with BBS alloy wheels and Brembo brake calipers painted a sparkly gold that could dress up a bass boat, a gaping hood scoop that could double as a badger den, and a giant rear wing that looked like the handle on Paul Bunyan’s lunchbox, the STI didn’t exactly blend into the automotive landscape. Nevertheless, it was blindingly quick, an absolute blast on a curvy road, and about as reliable as any ordinary Subaru, which is to say virtually bulletproof. Naturally, Subaru found plenty of enthusiastic takers. But as the STI’s first generation neared the end of its lifecycle, Subaru was already hawking more mature versions; the 2007 Limited, for instance, came with silver BBS wheels, black Brembo calipers, and a low-profile lip spoiler.
For the second generation, which made its debut for 2008, Subaru took the STI’s maturation to the next level, ditching the sedan body style in favor of a hatchback form and losing the humongous hood scoop and rear wing. Sure, the new four-door hatch still featured a scoop and a wing, just modestly sized. And despite functional side vents, bulging fenders, and larger 18-inch alloys, the hatch came across as understated in light of its predecessor.
Categories: Auto Review, Car Review, Subaru Tags: Subaru
2009 LA Auto Show Preview: Subaru WRX STI Special Edition headed for U.S. showrooms
For U.S. Subaru enthusiasts, it has long seemed like the folks at Fuji Heavy forgot that we might be interested in special-edition WRX models too. New hotted-up variants of the all-wheel-drive hero car have been released in the UK and elsewhere on what seems like a monthly basis, but here in the States, we’ve largely done without. Thankfully, at last there is just such a U.S. model in the pipeline, and it’s headed for the LA Auto Show.
The the 2010 WRX STI Special Edition starts by utilizing the suspension package form the JDM WRX STI Spec C (1mm thicker rear antisway bar, stiffer springs and more robust rear subframe bushings), and the model also inherits the charcoal 18 x 8.5-inch 14-spoke alloys from that car as well.
Categories: Hatchback, LA Auto Show, Subaru Tags: Subaru
